Zen Head-Butt Revised

That's a snap shot of me today. I need a hair cut, eh? I'm feeling better than I was a month ago, which is not to say I'm feeling well. Let's face it though, I'll take this over that any day of the month.
The update on my health; All I can say for sure is what I don't have: Lupus, Lyme Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Syphilis(!), Hepatitis AB or C, Vitamin D deficiency, a parathyroid issue, or, as far as the doctor could tell any other type of autoimmune disease, oh, or breast cancer. Good news all, but still sick and don't have a diagnosis. Getting there, though. Next organs to examine are the adrenal glands/functions and the pituitary gland. What an education I'm getting about how the body functions. It makes me think hard about what I'm putting into it, and what I do for it to keep it functioning. All you healthy folks go take a walk and eat well and get the right amount of sleep for yourselves (but not too much). Just because you can is a really good reason, trust me.

Rain, Rain, come again...

We've had some serious rain over the past week or so. You east-coasters probably don't see the excitement in it. But, we've not had much rain for the past two years and this wetness is welcome. And has the added bonus of bringing out salamanders and worms aplenty.

Bye, Bye Lava Rock!

I'm so happy to report the export of the lava rock in our front yard! We've had people come by with buckets and shovels and take as much as they can as well as one guy who filled the back of his pick-up. We are helping them by giving them something for free and they are helping us by taking it away for free. It's a longer process than hiring someone to come take it away. But I like free. I like giving. Think of all that good karma moving around. I'm trying to return to my frugal ways of post college life. I caught a few minutes of Marketplace on NPR about the economy, job loss and frugality yesterday. You could listen to the program through that link if you wish (yes, Mum, right on your computer!). The part of the conversation I caught was about being frugal and doing things for yourself rather than hiring people. Being inventive. Anyhow, the lava rock was my first deliberate step in that direction. I also made gluten free muffins this morning, which are a lot of work, but food I can eat that is yummy. And, as anyone who's shopped for gluten free food knows, it's darn expensive to buy prepared GF foods. Later on today Max and I are going to make pizza dough (not GF). We'll make mini pizzas with a muffin top tin to bake and freeze for quick lunches and snacks. (I'm also going to try to sneak in some veggies in under the hood). And with the dough that's left over we'll make some calzone for the crew. The other thing I plan on doing is trying to sell a bunch of stuff we don't use anymore. Craigslist will help with that. Clutter has got to go, money coming in is always a good thing too.



Check out that cute little white house, too. I do love it so, I think she's lovely. In the way only a mother can think her homely child is beautiful. The good thing is we can change the way she looks. Can't wait for that to happen. Coleman is thinking red. I was thinking orange - maybe we'll do both. I'm getting way ahead of myself, though. Because first we're going to peal the roof back and change it...well that's the long term plan. Before that we're simply adding onto the back and turning the garage into a clay/metal/glass and music studio. The roof line may have to wait a few years. Ah, but the vegetable garden, chickens and tree fort can't wait. Three of my personal projects planned for this winter/spring. I look forward to posting pictures of each of these projects. Until then, I'm off to be frugal.

Happy Coleman

I just wanted to share this fabulous picture of Coleman. Doesn't he look happy?

Random Pictures

Green things

Our yard always has something to offer. Our Meyer Lemon tree is bearing fruit. The best lemons I've ever had. They travel well, so feel free to request some. I'm always happy to share. The weather has been so amazing lately. Sunshine, Pacific Breeze, pretty lovely stuff.

I have finally decided on a great doctor, a homeopathic MD who is also a healer, and studied Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine so she's got a lot to pull from. She spent nearly two hours with me trying to help figure out my problems out. She's got a lot of ideas and seems to be the most thorough doctor I've met so far. She is approaching this holistically rather than one system at a time as the specialists do. I'm hopeful that I'll be feeling better soon. And better yet, I am also hopeful that I will be healthy again, as healthy as I was before my thyroid was removed. It's been over ten years of being ill off and on and I'm ready for that to be over...

Ah, I hear the sound of conflict in the background, I must go. Who knew I'd grow up to be the diplomat of the house?

Zen Head-butt

In Pokémon terms "zen head-butt" is a powerful attack. In my terms, well, it's getting sick enough to make you think about the important things. Don't worry, as far as I know I'm not dying. But something is up and I'm on the hunt for what it is. I guess I'm sick enough to not feel like being tired, sore, and generally crappy any more. This could be a good thing. I'll keep you guys informed as I know.

We're getting ready to collect bids on the addition to the house and garage. For those of you who don't know, we're living in a 935 sf house (this pétit house would fit into the first floor of our Jamaica Plain house with room left over) with two bedrooms, and a little guest cottage. We're planning on putting a small addition between the house and cottage to connect them, thus making our 2/1 into a 3/2 with a laundry room. We're only adding about 200 sf, but connecting the cottage to the house is going to make a huge difference. Max and Coleman will have their own rooms and we'll have somewhere to put our clothes (I hope!). We'll also fix up the existing bathroom and make the tiny kitchen more usable. Then we'll take the existing garage and turn it into a clay studio and add on 285 sf to that for a music studio for the my boys: they are going to ROCK your face off.